freediving outdoors...
freediving in the UK is not restricted to swimming pools :head
I'm sure Dolphin is good for beginners to get a taste for freediving. But freediving in the UK doesnt have to cost hundreds of pounds- only the price of a car journey. Ok, UK waters are not considered "ideal" conditons, but this doesnt mean that there aren't some fantastic dive sites around, if you just get out there and find them.
Every week, I dive in a freshwater site in North Wales which has excellent visibility (although quite dark) and has some incredible sheer cliffs, scenery, huge shoals of fish, sumberged vehicles, massive brick walls, underwater tunnels, huts and machinery (flooded quarry), and preserved underwater forests with leaves still intact after 30 years! Depths range down to 110m (nearly 4 x Dolphin) with lines ranging from 40 to 90m. It is situated effectively on common land, so it doesnt cost a penny. You can dive there anytime, even at night. I dive there all year round regardless of the weather. It usually rains, sometimes hails, sometimes snows, almost always windy, and occasionally sunny. No, there is no shelter to change, but that doesnt matter -that's all part of the experience - of being out there freediving in *open water*!
I like the expression... "there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes" :t
The really sad thing is that quite often I'm there on my own -ok, some people dont want to freedive in the UK (which is fair enough), but I'm sure many people (especially newcomers) dont even realise that there are such great places to freedive in the UK! So i'm just doing my bit by trying to spread the word a little here!!
We have other projects on the boil too... This winter myself and a couple of friends will be making some exploratory dives in some high mountain lakes in Snowdonia. They range in depth, the deepest being about 70m. I'm sure there are countless other places around that offer some great diving...
(Having said all that, obviously you should have reached a reasonable level of freediving competency before venturing out in open water. Furthermore I don't promote solo freediving, despite doing it myself.:naughty)
If anyone in the UK likes the idea of diving in non-chloriated water, then drop me a PM or email
cheers,
alun